BY ERIC ROSEN >LA.COM

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Angelenos often forget the plethora of fine dining and activities offered by our local hotel scene. After all, we don’t usually stay in any of the hotels of our native city, so why bother thinking about them? And so we miss out on some of the best dining in town, and some of the nicest pools that are open to the public. No more. Take a gander at the list we’ve come up with, and take advantage of LA’s hospitality.

Taste of Tuesday at Whist

1819 Santa Monica Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 434-2820

One of the hippest hotel scenes in town now hosts a swinging sampler soiree every Tuesday night from 6-9pm. Depending on what he finds at the local markets each week, Executive Chef Warren Schwartz whips up a variety of small “tastes” (hence the name) for $5 each. Menu items might include dishes like miso soy salmon with spicy cucumber, and elk tenderloin with foie gras cherry butter. Specialty cocktails like a candied kumquat margarita are also just $5. If you want to join the pretty people parading by the pool, rent out a cabana for the evening for a $200 flat fee for up to 10 people, and enjoy unlimited food and drinks.

blue on blue at the Avalon Hotel: DETOx-retoX Sunday

9400 W. Olympic Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
(310) 277-5221




Depending on the weekend you had, on Sundays you can either fuel the fire or fight the hangover as you lounge by the hourglass pool at the Avalon Hotel (pictured above) in Beverly Hills. During the week, the pristine white cabanas that ring this oasis are the haunt of Hollywood agents and lesser members of celebrity entourages. Sundays, however, are for the rest of us to enjoy. If you want to keep the party going, choose from the retoX menu, which features a tuna sashimi and pina-soy colada, duck and apricot strudel, and a chicken and veggie pot pie, each for $8. Wash it all down with a $12 bottomless bloody mary or mimosa. For those of you looking to reenergize before the next work week, the DETOx menu (items also $8 each) will get you back into fine form with bbq brisket sliders, fingerling ricotta baked taters and crab and corn hushpuppies. The real health kick is in the drinks, though, with options like a mixed berry smoothie with bee pollen, and a pitcher of cucumber and lemon water. Now that you know where to hang your head on Sunday, Saturday nights are looking that much more fun.

Jet Set Sundays at Sheraton Gateway

6101 W. Century Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90045
310-642-1111

Beat the heat every Sunday from 2-7pm at the newest pool party in town. The pool at the Sheraton Gateway is looking pretty attractive after the hotel’s $14 million total makeover, with new cabanas and all the accoutrements. Laze by the blue waters as planes fly by overhead. Don’t worry about the noise, though, since you’ll be listening to the tunes spun by local DJ’s. Entrance is free, but you can order items from the grill from $7-17, and specialty cocktails starting at $8. You can even have an old-fashioned Good Humor ice cream treat for some real summertime nostalgia. Even the parking is discounted to $6 for the day. So come in your bathing suit, but bring your passport because who knows, you might even meet someone from a foreign land.

Custom Hotel: Sundaze Pool Party at Hopscotch

8639 Lincoln Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90045
310-645-0400

Come for the sun, stay for the evening, as the intimate little pool at the new Custom Hotel features a new weekly party every Sunday from 1-9 pm on Sundays, or Sundaze, as the party is called. DJ’s from around the world come to play their music as guests from faraway destination as well as closer ports of call gather to bronze and imbibe. Order food poolside from Hopscotch Pool Bar and Grill, or dare to give up your chaise for a few moments and wander up to the open air dining area and take in the flight path of LAX’s air traffic. There’s no cover charge, but there is limited space, so be sure to RSVP.

Le Merigot Hotel: Cezanne Thursdays Mac & Cheese

1740 Ocean Ave.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
310-395-9700

Your inner child will delight in the simplistic delicacy of this venerable French restaurant’s weekly mac & cheese night on Thursdays. We’re not talking Kraft or Velveeta either. Oh no, this is mac & cheese for grownups to be sure. Though Cezanne offers a black truffle mac & cheese with lobster and five cheeses on its normal menu, on Thursdays, executive chef Desi Szonntagh whips up three distinct varieties with gourmet items like prawns, or raw milk manchego cheese mixed in. You can sample one for $12, or get all three for the whopping price of $14. Get all three. Your mom can’t tell you not to any more.

-Eric Rosen